If the same number of people played RL worldwide as do soccer, then this could well be a RL linesman in the frame. Its a knobhead thing, not exclusively a soccer thing. Soccer is most popular - by some distance- hence has more idiots.

If the same number of people played RL worldwide as do soccer, then this could well be a RL linesman in the frame. Its a knobhead thing, not exclusively a soccer thing. Soccer is most popular - by some distance- hence has more idiots.

Of course there is nothing intrinsic in the game per se. But it's nothing to do with numbers either - I don't recall any angling riots. Soccer has got to the point where cheating has been normalised such that it is now intrinsic to the sport at all levels.

Absolutely, but I would contend that a genuine ethos out fair play is still key to the sport and the culture that surrounds it, in this country at least.

Yes and I agree but RL is not free from idiots. I can think of 2 people who are incredibly racist yet are RL fans. Certainly they are not representative of the average RL fan but we can't do too much backslapping yet.

Yes and I agree but RL is not free from idiots. I can think of 2 people who are incredibly racist yet are RL fans. Certainly they are not representative of the average RL fan but we can't do too much backslapping yet.

It is also a question of numbers - with so many more fans than any other sport, Football is statistically more likely to have so many more unpleasant people among them.

Edited by Futtocks, 04 December 2012 - 12:40 PM.

Between the optimist & the pessimist
The difference is quite droll:
The optimist sees the doughnut,
The pessimist sees the hole.

Terrible incident really, but I don't think it's the sport that is the issue in question, more the attitude of the youths in question. One of my friends refs football at lower levels, and always says he thinks that U15s-U18s are the worst age groups due to the hormone levels, and the need to look "hard" in front of their friends. Several times, he's been threatened and verbally abused; as a big lad I suspect that one or two may have had second thoughts about trying any more than that. He even told me that he'd been abused at Belle Vue (he's a Wakey fan for his sins) by a lad who he'd previously sent off in a game and took a lengthy ban for abusing the ref, so these things do sometimes carry on long after the initial event.

I remember reffing a union game many years ago, sharing the changing room with the football referee. We were chatting away when the home team football captain came in, looked at the ref and said "oh for f***'s sake, not you again you c**t. I hope you're not going to be the complete w**ker you were last time you were here". He then turned around and stormed out slamming the door. The football ref shrugged and said that that was sadly common, although rarely as blunt.

If that happened in either code of rugby, the game would start with that one player not coming on the field if it even started at all.

I've seen similar, but not as bad, in more than a few other occasions with shared changing rooms. I wouldn't be a football official for even professional footballer salaries, never mind the token amount they get at lower levels.

Arguing with the forum trolls is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are, the bird will **** on the board and strut around like it won anyway